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HASC MEMBERS WILL GET THEIR FIRST LOOK at DOD’s spending plans on Thursday afternoon during a classified briefing by senior defense officials, a congressional aide tells us, ahead of open hearings set to start as soon as Obama sends his budget to Congress next month.

MEANWHILE, NEW DETAILS ARE EMERGING of what’s in and out. Among the outs: The A-10 close air support plane. Military Times reported Monday that of six fighter squadrons the Air Force plans to cut over the next five years, five of them fly the A-10s. Winnefeld told the paper in an interview that they’ll be replaced by F-35s. Read the story by Jeff Schogol here: http://bit.ly/yzonJp

THE AIR FORCE HAS ALWAYS BEEN a reluctant operator of the subsonic A-10, which has been providing close air support to ground troops in combat since the Gulf War. But it’s a popular plane with the Army, so expect that service’s supporters in Congress to at least question the decision. Defense analysts are already doing so. Among them is Andrew Exum of the Center for a New American Security, who noted in a tweet that “If the USAF cuts the A-10, the Army should do what it has done in the past and threaten to fly the damn thing itself.”

THE CENTER FOR STRATEGIC AND BUDGETARY ASSESSMENTS meanwhile is surveying service members to get their opinion on proposed changes to military pay and benefits – likely to be the most contentious issue in the new budget. Interested service members can participate here: http://bit.ly/zhCJAq

GOOD TUESDAY MORNING AND WELCOME TO MORNING DEFENSE. Please keep the feedback and tips coming to choskinson@politico.com, and follow us on Twitter @morningdefense for updates between briefings.

IT’S STILL A DANGEROUS WORLD OUT THERE - Petraeus, Clapper, DIA chief Burgess and FBI Director Robert Mueller are among the administration officials giving Senate Intelligence Committee members a tour of global threats at the panel’s annual hearing on the subject. Some of the expected highlights: terrorism, Iran, North Korea and a rising China. The hearing is at 10 a.m. in 216 Hart.

THE MARINES THIS WEEK ARE GETTING BACK to their primary mission of amphibious warfare with a massive exercise off the East Coast designed to reacquaint the force with skills they haven’t used in 10 years of war in Iraq and Afghanistan. Dubbed Bold Alligator 2012, the exercise involves Navy and Marine units in Florida, Virginia and North Carolina, along with forces from eight allied countries.

THE TIMING OF THE EXERCISE IS COINCIDENTAL, but it’s likely to inform the debate over the future of the Corps in the new budget environment. In a statement Monday on DOD’s budget plans for the Marines, Amos said: “As our nation turns its attention to the Pacific, the Marine Corps looks forward to reorienting our focus west to this historic area of operations; in doing so, we will continue to respond to crises and contingencies throughout the world as the President may direct. In line with the strategic guidance, we will recommit ourselves to our long-standing forward-deployed and forward-engaged partnership with the Navy, while returning to our fundamental role as America's expeditionary force in readiness.”

OUTED - Obama for the first time confirmed that the United States has conducted drone attacks in Pakistan, saying in an online interview that “a lot of these strikes have been in the FATA,” referring to Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas. And, he added, they're “going after Al Qaeda suspects who are up in very tough terrain along the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan.” Our story is here: http://politi.co/zxOfzJ. Video of the interview is here: http://1.usa.gov/wWua1U

EARLY EXIT? - One item on the agenda when NATO defense ministers meet Thursday and Friday in Brussels will be France’s suggestion for an accelerated withdrawal timetable from Afghanistan, with an eye toward having foreign forces out by 2013. On Monday, Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said for now the alliance plans to stick to its 2014 target date. “There is nothing new in the fact that from mid-2013 there will be a gradual change of the role of our forces in Afghanistan. The fact is that by mid-2013 we will start the final transition of provinces and districts to lead Afghan responsibility. So from that time on the whole of Afghanistan will have Afghan Security Forces in the lead of security. And from that time on we can gradually change the role of our forces from combat to support,” he said at a news conference with visiting Romanian President Traian Basescu. “The pace and the scope of that transformation of our forces will, of course, very much depend on the security situation on the ground. The better the security the stronger the Afghan Security Forces the more rapidly we can transform the role of our forces.”

THE NEW START ARMS-CONTROL AGREEMENT is a year old on Sunday. Rose Gottemoeller, assistant secretary of state for arms control, verification and compliance, will speak today at an event celebrating that anniversary sponsored by the American Security Project. The event is from 12-4 p.m. at the organization’s headquarters, 1100 New York Ave., Suite 710W.

A MARINE WOUNDED BY A GRENADE BLAST in Afghanistan is the subject of a campaign to have him awarded the Medal of Honor. The problem for Lance Cpl. Kyle Carpenter is that he and Lance Cpl. Nick Eufrazio – the Marine he’s credited with saving – are the only witnesses to the event. Carpenter says he doesn’t remember what happened and Eufrazio has difficulty speaking because of brain damage from the explosion. Dan Lamothe of Marine Corps Times has the story here: http://bit.ly/wwxqnv

MANY STARS AND STRIPES STAFFERS are upset with DOD’s plans to move them out of their downtown D.C. offices to the military’s public affairs headquarters at Ft. Meade, Md., seeing it as a bid to tighten control over the authorized unofficial publication for U.S. troops. “Putting us in the same building as top public affairs officials – and next door to the building where they train future public affairs officers – will damage our credibility as an independent voice for the troops. Worse, it will give the military the chance to look over our shoulder as we try to remain an aggressive investigator on defense issues.” A Stripes employee told media blogger Jim Romanesko. His blog post is here: http://bit.ly/yaaBxf

THE ARMY SAYS GOODBYE TODAY to Chiarelli after 40 years of service with a formal retirement ceremony at Ft. Myer at 10 a.m. He’ll be replaced as vice chief of staff by Austin, the last commander of U.S. forces in Iraq.

WHO’S WHERE WHEN - Panetta, Dempsey and Odierno speak at the retirement ceremony for Chiarelli. Panetta also heads to the White House for a 10:45 a.m. Cabinet meeting and later meets separately with Obama at 4:30 p.m. Donley and Schwartz attend the Air Force Civic Leader conference at Andrews AFB. Leaders of the reserve components of the various services will speak at the ROA National Security Seminar in Washington at 10 a.m.